The Path of Silver
by RaidTheFanFic
Summary: When Redfur, the Clan deputy, brings back a strange rogue kit, everyone doubts her abilities. But when she proves herself to be a worthy warrior of ThunderClan, she instantly becomes popular. But what's most important is that StarClan has chosen her for the most important job of all...saving her Clan.
1. The Beginning

Prologue

As the brackens around the nursery shifted, Mapleheart winced, but then she noticed the Clan deputy, Redfur, carrying a tiny silver coloured kit in his jaws. Her mouth opened in shock, and she meowed softly, "Whats this you got here, Redfur?" The deputy lowered down the sleeping kit, and he sighed. "It's difficult to explain. I found this kit here, abandoned by her mother. Can you take care of her?" Mapleheart lowered her head to stare at her other kits. "Did you take them from somewhere?" she meowed. "How can I trust you?"  
Redfur let out sigh. "I'm your Clan's deputy, for StarClan's sake!" Lowering his voice, he murmured, "I promise you can trust me, Mapleheart. I promise she's a rogue's kit." Seeing sincerity and honesty in the deputy's eyes, Mapleheart lowered her eyes again. "Very well. I shall take care of her."  
Chapter 1

As Silverkit focused her gaze on the butterfly. Once it had reached the point she wanted, she jumped, landing her claws on their target. The butterfly fell to the ground, but she accidentally bumped into a warrior just coming out of the warrior's den. Stoneclaw let out a screech of surprise, as did Silverkit. "Great StarClan! What are you doing out here?" the warrior's amber eyes blazed with anger. "Go back to the nursery!" Silverkit squeaked once more and ran back into the nursery. Silverkit, still trembling from the experience, crouched just inside, while she heard a she-cat's voice trying to comfort Stoneclaw.  
"It's okay," a comforting voice called Silverkit. Her "mother", Mapleheart, was calling her. "Stoneclaw's the most edgy and unfriendly cat, but he's still a good cat at heart," she purred. Silverkit wasn't very sure about that.  
Was it simply Stoneclaw was in a permanent bad mood, or was it something else?

"I heard about Stoneclaw today," the reddish cat meowed to Silverkit. This cat was the Clan deputy, and also her "father". Silverkit knew nothing of her earlier parents, and Redfur had told her that she was not his son. She assumed they belonged to the Clan and had died, therefore Redfur and Mapleheart were taking care of her. As her father continued to talk to her with comforting words, her attention drifted off to another butterfly. "It'll be all forgotten by tomorrow," Redfur promised. "Can I go play now?" Silverkit squeaked. An elder sunning himself in the corner let out a purr of amusement. "You'll have a hard time making that one listen," she rasped. "But then again, YOU were the same." Redfur's eyes glittered with embarassment, but he went over to talk. "What are you doing outside, Willowsong?" the rest of their conversation was cut short when a hunting patrol came back. "Prey!" Blackkit, one of Silverkit's brothers, meowed in excitement. "I'll be the best warrior in the forest!"  
"And I'll be leader," Silverkit thought.

Chapter 2

"From this day forward, you shall be known as Silverpaw. Sunpelt, you wil train here. I hope you will pass on your fine hunting and fighting skills." The ginger cat dipped his head and touched noses with Silverpaw. A spasm of excitement made Silverpaw tremble as she thought that she would sleep in the apprentices' den tonight. Although being an apprentice made her proud to the core, she would regret that she could never sleep next to Mapleheart anymore, until maybe when she was made a warrior. "Hopefully that won't be very soon!" Silverpaw's thoughts were cut off as the warriors started cheering her name and her littermates', Gorsepaw and Blackpaw.  
"Where will we go tomorrow?" she asked excitely to Sunpelt, her mentor. Her mentor shook his head and said, "Tomorrow we shall say. For now, we're all tired, so go to the nur...apprentices' den, I mean." He licked his head in embarassment, and Silverpaw did too when she heard elders talking about her in the corner. She caught the word of "rogue", and "StarClan", but thought nothing of it. Tonight, she would be sleeping in the Apprentices' Den!

When a paw prodded Silverpaw awake the next morning, sleepiness swept over her like a gigantic wave of water. She yawned again, but straightened up when she saw Sunpelt impatiently flicking his tail. "Come on, we've waited for you enough. Gorsepaw and Blackpaw are so excited they look like they might jump off into the trees and leave us."  
"Sorry!" she squeaked. Today was her first day of training! Excitement pulsed through her once again. "Where are we going?"  
"Just to explore the territory," Sunpelt replied. "Look, there's Stoneclaw and Clawfur." Silverpaw gulped. She had completely forgotten Stoneclaw was mentoring her brother, Gorsepaw! Worse, Sunpelt had warned her Clawfur was even more grumpy, and if she had did what she had done to Stoneclaw, by now Clawfur would be lining his den with her fur!  
Still, she took a curious look at Clawfur when she passed by. He had a dark and scary look, and she quickly turned back. Poor Gorsepaw and Blackpaw! They had the grumpiest warriors in camp as their mentors. At least Sunpelt was much better. Hopefully she would enjoy this day as much as she enjoyed the nursery where her littermates played with her, and Mapleheart stood watching over them.

"...And this is the Thunderpath." Sunpelt was explaining. "Wait!" he meowed as Blackpaw took a step towards it. "Be careful, the Thunderpath is a very dangerous place." After checking around, he signaled for the apprentices to take a look. Suddenly the roar of a monster echoed the Thunderpath. Silverpaw jumped back in surprise as the monster blasted heat into her face. Her face must have looked funny at that time, as even the dark and grumpy Stoneclaw chuckled at it. "Over there is ShadowClan territory," Clawfur growled. "NEVER, go over it. If we did, that would count as trespassing. And if we did," he paused. "We would get a rebuke if we get caught by a patrol, at best."  
"At worse?" Gorsepaw enquired. Silverpaw rolled her eyes. "A clawing!" she meowed. "That's right," Stoneclaw meowed. "The rogue knows her stuff." "Rogue?" Silverpaw asked. Sunpelt flashed Stoneclaw a look of pure rage and fury, and Silverpaw flinched. She had never seen Sunpelt angry. "Whatever, lets just go back to camp. It's late, and we've shown them everything," Clawfur said, looking a bit nervous.

When they got back to camp, Silverpaw felt like she was going to collapse. The journey from place to place had left her tired. And as soon as she got into her comfortable nest of moss, she immediately drifted off to sleep.


	2. ShadowClan invasion

Chapter 3 (a few days later)  
As the moon slowly disappeared, and light showed its brilliance over the forest trees, Silverpaw was jolted away by a screech. "ShadowClan!" Lightningbreeze, one of the warriors, was racing back towards camp. Blood was splattered over him, and wounds covered his leg, back, everywhere.  
Firstar, leader of ThunderClan, sprang to his paws. "What has happened?" he demanded. "Where is your patrol?"  
Lightningbreeze's ears were flat against his head. "We were hunting somewhere near Snakerocks," he explained. "When a ShadowClan patrol jumped us. We started fighting, but our patrol is losing. They have more cats. Duststorm sent me to camp to fetch more cats."  
Immediately Firstar was on his feet. "Redfur, get a patrol to where the attack happened. Hopefully they'll still be fighting, and we can defeat that ShadowClan patrol. Let's hope they also didn't get reinforcements. Get Mapleheart, Raincloud, Antfur and Stoneclaw.  
I'll lead the second patrol just behind you. I'll take Clawfur, Gorsepaw, Blackpaw and Silverpaw." Silverpaw's pelt tingled with anxiety, nervousment, and excitement. Her very first battle! Skirmishes over territory and prey was a common sight in the Clan when she was a kit, but she had never went on one.  
But Clawfur didn't seem content. "Firstar, why is your patrol so full of apprentices?" He seemed to forget Blackpaw was his very own apprentice! Firstar stiffened and growled, "Why shouldn't this apprentices come on their first battle? I expect all of them to be fit for the battle. After all, you, Clawfur, and some of my toughest warriors trained them."  
"Yes!" Clawfur growled. "But a leader's patrol full of apprentices? ShadowClan will take it as a sign of weakness! You didn't even take Sunpelt!"  
Silverpaw's mentor cringed. She could clearly see he did not want anything to do with this argument. "What if another Clan attacked while we were gone? Sunpelt and other warriors need to defend." When Clawfur opened his mouth again, Firstar snapped, "Let's go, quickly! By now ShadowClan will be drinking in their victory."  
That silenced Clawfur. "Where is it, Lightningbreeze?" Redfur growled. "We've been walking in the forest for ages." Clawfur grunted agreement, but was silenced once again by Firstar. "Sorry!" the warrior yelped. Suddenly he crouched down. "There it is," he growled.

A disgusting scent flooded over Silverpaw. This must be ShadowClan scent! She remembered it faintly from her first day of training, when they explored the Thunderpath and looked ahead.  
But to her horror, the ShadowClan patrol was standing victorious on the ground. Several ThunderClan cats lay on the ground, dead or alive, who knew. A dark coloured warrior looked up. "So, the reinforcements have arrived. Later then we expected. Did anything hold you up?" he sneered. Redfur bristled in anger. Before Silverpaw could ask what to do next, the warrior yowled, "ATTACK!" 


	3. Victory and Mystery

Warriors from both sides yowled, and in a split second everything was red with blood. A huge warrior snarled at Silverpaw. Terrified, she tried to remember all the fighting moves Sunpelt had taught her. Clawing at the tabby, both exchanged wounds and blood. Suddenly she found her littermates next to her, clawing and biting the warrior. He let out a yelp of pain. Dropping onto all fours, he charged at the cats. Suddenly black was all Silverpaw could see.  
Silverpaw opened her eyes again and realized she had fallen deeper down the hillside. Suddenly the warrior appeared again, eyes gleaming. "You're mine," he snarled. "Never!" Silverpaw her claws she clawed the warrior. He tried to defend, but she was too quick. Claw after claw, blood dripped from the multiple wounds on the warrior. He paused, and Silverpaw tried to attack again. Suddenly the warrior lashed out, knocking Silverpaw back, and knocking the wind out of her.

Suddenly there was a yowl of rage, and Redfur jumped onto the warrior, tearing out flesh and spilling blood.  
"Go, Silverpaw!" he gasped. "Claw his belly!"  
Anger pulsed once again through Silverpaw. How dare this crow-food eating warrior come onto ThunderClan territory and attack their cats! Quick as a snake, she lashed out multiple strikes onto the warrior's stomach. Suddenly Redfur released the warrior, and he went bounding back towards his territory.  
"Coward!" Redfur called after him, but he paid no attention. The fury disappeared from Redfur's eyes and he licked Silverpaw's ears. "You fought well," he meowed. "I don't want to be that warrior facing you!"  
Although Redfur was her own father, and tended to give her praise, Silverpaw knew that he wasn't lying, and would have given it to any other cat. Knowing that, Silverpaw was proud.

When the cats had come back, everyone was hurt, but the ones severely injured were the first victims of the attack. The patrol Lightningbreeze had been in.  
"They'll be so many cats in my den!" Heatherwhisker complained, but a glint was in his eyes. Silverpaw knew he loves helping injured or sick cats.  
When he saw Silverpaw's injuries, he just gave her some slight medicine. "You'll be alright." When Silverpaw left, she heard him mutter, "and to think she fought a warrior!"  
But despite both Heatherwhisker and Redfur's praise, some cats didnt think she deserved any. "She had help from Redfur," Clawfur growled. "Any apprentice could defeat that warrior." Silverpaw couldn't help but notice several cats, Stoneclaw included, nodding. Why were they so angry at her? Why did they insist that she was a weak cat?  



	4. The Answer

The sun drifted high above the clouds, and Silverpaw was jolted awake by a sharp claw. Sunpelt stared at her, clearly annoyed, but his eyes also glittered with amusement. "Slept enough?" he asked. Immediately Silverpaw was on her paws. She must have been too tired! "Sorry! Did I miss anything?" she asked.  
Sunpelt shook his head. "Just a dawn patrol. You'll miss battle training and a hunting patrol too, if you continue to sleep, though. So I thought I would wake you up."  
"Thanks!" Silverpaw blinked appreciately at him. As she entered the area where Sunpelt intended to conduct the battle training, she noticed another apprentice she didn't recognize. Who was he?  
Something about him made her interested, but she didn't have time to ask any questions when another warrior she did not know spoke up. "Me and Frostpaw will join you today if you don't mind," he meowed. Stoneclaw, Clawfur and Sunpelt dipped their heads. "Very well, Rowanflame. You may join us."  
Gorsepaw and Blackpaw apparently did not recognize Frostpaw as well, and were muttering to each other. "Okay, enough chat," Stoneclaw growled. "We're going to practice defence and attack moves today. Can any cat think of some?"  
Blackpaw burst out, "Playing dead?" Stoneclaw nodded, "It's a good one, but your enemy might be expecting it. It's a very simple move taught by all Clans."  
"What about hitting your enemy's head hard to daze them?" Silverpaw asked. Clawfur looked surprised, and Silverpaw almost let her fur bristle. It almost seemed like he couldn't believe SHE, of all cats, had thought of it.  
"Good one," Rowanflame purred. "Don't you think so, Stoneclaw?"  
The gray cat hesitated. "Yes, it's good." But he sounded reluctant to praise her, just like Clawfur. Silverpaw let out a hiss of anger. Now Gorsepaw thought of one. "Bite their scruff and shake them around!" Stoneclaw nodded approvingly. "Yes, Gorsepaw, that's also a good one. Now, let's actually practice some moves." For once Frostpaw spoke. "That's great!" his dark eyes that seemed uninterested only a moment ago flared up in excitement. Sunpelt whispered to Silverpaw, "A good cat. But a little too excited for battle." All of a sudden a warrior and another apprentice crashed into the hollow. " "Fawnwing?" Sunpelt's voice was guarded. "Er, yes," said the she-cat. "Me and Shadowpaw were going on a hunting patrol, but they left without us just a moment ago. Can we join you?"  
After a heartbeat, Clawfur nodded, and so did the rest of the mentors. Silverpaw was embarassed. Aside from Gorsepaw and Blackpaw, she knew none of her other denmates.

The day went smoothly, with Silverpaw beating all the other apprentices except for Frostpaw, who she had a little bit of trouble with. But Stoneclaw and Clawfur had seemed just a bit too unhappy and shocked that she had bit her brothers. Why was everyone so determined to insist she wasn't a good fighter?  
She had to have answers. When Sunpelt caught up to her, she asked softly, "Sunpelt, why are Clawfur and Stoneclaw so determined to insist I don't have any talent? Why do some elders and warriors talk to me so roughly and unhappily? Sometimes I catch what they say, and they mention "rogue"."  
Sunpelt cringed. "Stoneclaw and Clawfur are just upset you beat their apprentices. As for the elders, don't worry, they're just grumpy." "That's not the answer and you know it!" Silverpaw burst out. Why was Sunpelt lying to her? "Then what about the word "rogue"? You're not telling the truth!"  
Sunpelt paused again. "You won't be content until you hear the truth?" "No."  
Glancing around to make sure none of the other cats were around, Sunpelt whispered. "Go and ask your father. He's the best one to explain."  
Her father's shocked gaze stood staring at her. "You want to know why?" he asked sharply. He didn't sound right. "Who behaved like this to you? I'll-"  
"It's alright, Redfur." Her mother's voice sounded from the nursery. "She needs to know. She's an apprentice now, and she deserves to hear the story." Redfur paused again. "The same you told me, Redfur. Don't tell me you've forgotten."  
"No," he sighed. "It just pains me to have to say it again. Silverpaw, you're not Clanborn." Confusion pounded through Silverpaw's mind. "But I was here since I was a kit!" she protested. "How can I not be Clanborn?"  
"One night I went out because I couldn't sleep," Redfur explained. "I was drawn towards a strange noise, and I realized it was a kit crying out to me for help. It was painfully hungry, tired, and thirsty, so I brought it back to your mother, Mapleheart."  
"Who was that kit?" Silverpaw already knew the answer, but she just wanted to hear it. Redfur paused, emotion and pain filling his eyes so much Silverpaw wished she had never asked. "You."  
"So that's why they can't accept me? Because I was not Clanborn? Because I was a rogue instead?" Redfur paused again. "Yes." "That's not fair!" Silverpaw lashed her tail. "I'm just as loyal to ThunderClan as they are! Why are they judging me for something I can't control?"  
"It's just like that," Redfur whispered. "But there are also good cats that like you, Silverpaw. Not all are like Stoneclaw or Clawfur. Some accept you as a loyal warrior of ThunderClan. I don't think even Firstar hates you, Silverpaw."  
"But SOME do!" Without saying anything else, Silverpaw ran off into the cold forest.  
"It's not FAIR!" she lashed her tail again and clawed at the frosty soil. "I'll prove to them that I'm a loyal warrior of the Clan," she vowed. "When I become the best hunter and fighter in the forest! Then, nobody will question my loyalty and my skill."  



End file.
